Peterson: In his first public comment, Iowa State's Kempt says he was run off at Oregon State

Kempt talks publicly for the first time about the NCAA process he hopes will grant him one more season of eligibility.
Randy Peterson/The Register

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Iowa State quarterback Kyle Kempt discusses publicly for the first time his attempt to get another college football season, Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017, in Memphis, Tennessee.(Photo: Randy Peterson/The Register)Buy Photo

Kempt will start the 11:30 a.m. Dec. 30 Liberty Bowl against Memphis. He’s healthy again. He’s playing with as much pizzazz right now as he did while engineering wins against Top Five opponents Oklahoma and TCU.

Then what?

“If I get another year — it happens,” Kempt said during his first public comments on the unique request. “But right now, this is my last game.”

That’s his mindset, as the Cyclones prepare for their first bowl game since 2012. It’s the only mindset he can have — based on as much NCAA uncertainty as knowing exactly which of his receivers will be open the most on Saturday.

He anticipates a ruling by when second semester starts.

“If I get it, I’ll come back and work out during the winter,” he said. “If not? I’ll prepare for the next level.”

Regardless, he said he’ll attend classes next semester.

“For him, I’d love that to happen,” coach Matt Campbell said on the NCAA allowing Kempt to return. “The reality of it is that I don’t know. I haven’t been in this situation before.”

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Iowa State football coach Matt Campbell with the latest
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The NCAA has all the paperwork. It included a statement in which Kyle personally stated his case.

“I responded in a letter that we sent them,” he said shortly after walking off the Rhodes College football field Tuesday afternoon. “I’d rather not go into that.

Iowa State Cyclones quarterback Kyle Kempt (17) drops back to pass during first-quarter action against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.(Photo: Scott Sewell/USA TODAY Sports)

“It was a statement (of) why I should get it.”

He’s testing the “run-off” rule, which allows the NCAA to grant additional eligibility for players transferring to a four-year school after being “run off” at a previous four-year school.

Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee won his case after starting 19 games at Tulane — before Willie Fritz became the new Green Wave coach in 2016.

Iowa State hopes that same principal works for Kempt — despite sandwiching a non-playing stint at Hutchinson Community College between Oregon State and the Cyclones.

Neither Kempt nor Campbell revealed specifics of the paperwork, although Kempt had this back-and-forth with a reporter Tuesday:

Reporter: So Kyle, were you run off when your started your college career at Oregon State?

Kempt: "They told me I wasn’t going to play there. Yeah.”

He got caught up in a coaching change, and everyone knows how those things go. Football isn’t a game where one type of quarterback fits all offensive styles.

So he transferred to Hutchinson Community College — where he didn’t play, either.

Reporter: Were you run off at Hutch?

Kempt: “I just didn’t play there. There were some things that went on ... things I discussed in the letter that I don’t want to go into.”

That’s as close to the specifics as we could get Tuesday, while talking to the quarterback who won four of his seven Iowa State starts this season.

He was the emergency starter in that epic upset at Oklahoma — his first major quarterbacking duty since high school. He beat TCU three weeks later.

“Look at him,” said receiver Hakeem Butler, whose interview session was being conducted next to Kempt. “The dude has no emotion whatsoever.

“You see a (composed) quarterback … he’s not trippin'.

“Everybody hyped him up after the Oklahoma game. He never cracked a smile. That’s what I love about him.”

What would Butler tell the NCAA, if asked to testify on Kempt’s behalf?

“The dude hasn’t played football at all until this year,” he said. “Kyle has been through so much. Everybody on this team has a story, but Kyle’s story is crazy — going through so many different schools and not playing.

“If anybody deserves an extra year, it’s him.”

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson has been with the Register for parts of five decades. Randy writes opinion and analysis of Iowa State football and basketball. You can reach Randy at rpeterson@dmreg.com or on Twitter at @RandyPete.

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Here is how the Cyclones fared in their bowl games dating back to 2000.
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